St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-10-10
ANTl-POVERTY.
Ralph Beaumont and Richard Trevelliek
Speak Upon the Land Question.
THE UNEARNED INCREMENT.
fhe Increase Of Land Values Illustrated
---TreyeiliCk Scores the Churches
Usury Curse.

Hammond hall last evening was we'll
filled with an audience that applauded
and laughed by turns at the plain, COM
nonsense talk of Ralph Beaumont and
the eloquence and at times almost gro
tesque humor of Richard Trevellick,
who spoke under the auspices of the
Anti-Peverty society, upon the land
question and kindred topics. In calling
the meeting to order G. l.. Buel, preSi-
dent of the society, said: 1.-The march
of political equality has been steadily
progressing. while industrial inequality
is becoming daily more and more no
ticeable. Labor has found out how and
why ii is oppressed, and is seeking the
remedy through the movements that
bind men together to obtain their indi-
vidual rights. This remedy is to
secure to each an equal opportunity to
reach the natural resources of the earth.
We hope to see the day when the faith
erland of God and the brotherhood of
man will be recognized the world over"
With these remarks he introduced
Ralph Beaumont, of New York, as the
principal speaker of the evening, who
proved to be an entertaining talker.
He dwelt principally upon the land
question.
Abraham s. Hewitt, MAYOR of New
York, recently told the Brotherhood of
Locomotive Engineers that forty years
ago he Started out to abolish poverty in
his own case. This Anti-Poverty So
ciety is broader than Mr. Hewitt and
seeks to abolish poverty.in every case
He is worth S1,000,000, and, as the aver
age wealth of each person would
be $1,000 if the riches of the
country were divided equally, 800
persons suffer while he prospers. 1t is
impossible to have poverty unless we
have riches-w wealth, like charity, would
not exist if justice were done. Some be-
come poor through no fault of their
own and others become rich through no
fault of their own.
To illustrate this latter point the
speaker related an instance of Mime
apoliS lady who inherited a patch of
land near Men0mOnie, Wis, half
dozen years ago. She offered to sell it
for $1,000, and not finding a purchaser
she placed it in the hands of real es-
tate agent. and since then $4,000 worth
of town lots have been sold from that
piece of ground. He did not think the
Minneapolis lady had anything to do
with getting rich. Another example
given was that of a young man who
undertook to purchase house and lot
and pay 10 per cent. interest on the
investment. In the course of a few
years the value Of the property doubles,
but the young man gets only the same
S1.50 day as wages. A man builds a
house on a lot and thereby improves an
adjoining vacant lot belonging to real
estate man. The latter demands an in
crease in the price of his lot because
the other lot has been s'improyed"
Thus he profits. but he does not pay
that profit to the man who deserves it.
No, he keeps it. The speaker con-
tinued to speak of land values, giving
numerous illustrations, and incidentally
mentioned the name OF Henry George,
which was received with applause. The
unearned increment on the land in
New York city amounts to S125, 00O.000
annually, which would be enough to pay
taxes, give free transportation, and lift
other burdens from the people.
He could imagine the Pilgrim Fathers
landing on Plymouth Rock and passing
the following resolutions:
First-The earth is the Lords and the full
ness thereof.
Second-That He has ordained that il
shall be given to His saints on earth
Third-That weare the saints.
Yet this act of spOilation is the foun-
datl0n of every title given to land In the
history of the country.
Duluth he declared to be the most
speculative-ridden city in the country,
where an acre of rock sells for $500.
At Ashland spectators had raised the
price. of land Geo per cent. in twelve
months, and then skipped to Sault Ste.
Marie to DO the same thing over again.
Every acre of anthracite coal is mort
gagged for s1,750 to the cor
porations that control them and
this burden of taxation. which means
$3.50 a ton for coal at Minneapolis, for
which the miner is paid but 20 cents in
getting tito the surface, must rest upon
our children. He was not one who
would shirk responsibility and allow
matters to drift, but would struggle
against the irregularities which threaten
to curse p0sterity as well as the present
generation.
TREVELLICK'S SERMON.
Richard Trevellick made character
istic appeal for practical effort to i'm
prove their condition. ''God helps
those who help themselves" Prayers
will not keep a leaky ship from sinking.
The children of Israel wandered forty
years in making a journey they could
easily have accomplished in ten weeks,
because they were not morally nor in
tellectually 1T to enjoy the promised
11IIh, anu you Will ICNtl 1cCtINt UIlG
benefit of the condition OF affairs YOU
desire until You are educated to deserve
and appreciate the blessing. 1t is hard
to compete with untiring machinery and
Kissing steam, but there is a chastise-
ment like that to which the children of
Israel suffered, and the time will come
when machinery will lift toll from the
shoulders of men and will become the
servant, not Of the few, but of the
masses. When that comes, usury,
which the churches and ministry are too
cOwardiy to tight, will be abolished-for
what is interest but paying some
thing for nOthing-juSt in proportion
as societies such as the K. of l.. and
Anti-POverty educate the philosophc
mind to enjoy the paradise that has
been lost through ignorance.
He severely scored the churches and
ministry which tolerate the Plus hypo-
critics who pay $50 for pew rent and
u cents per dozen for making shirts to
the widow, and in conclusion said that
Henry George and DIR. McGlynn were
endorsed by the knights of Labor in
the belief that the land is the gift of
God to the people no matter what opin-
inns +Ifiy